Frequently Asked Questions
[ Last Updated 20 January 2006 ]
The information in these pages is of a general nature only and provides answers to questions often raised by interested parties to Trade Remedies investigations.
If you have any questions that are not covered by the responses provided below please feel free to contact the Trade Remedies Group.
Why is My Company Involved in This Investigation?
Applicants are required to identify any importers and exporters known to them when they make an application. This list, in addition to any other companies identified from New Zealand Customs Service import statistics, identifies the parties that are likely to be involved in the investigation.
The primary focus is the identification of those overseas suppliers whose exports to New Zealand constitute a significant proportion of the total imports of the subject goods. This may include importers who have only imported a small volume of goods but sourced those goods from a significant exporter.
What Other Companies Are Involved in the Investigation?
Parties involved in an investigation can only be identified to the extent allowed by the need to maintain privacy and commercial confidentiality. In most cases a listing of importers, exporters and New Zealand producers involved in an investigation will be available, however confidential relationships between them are not. The list of importers and exporters is made available via the public file for the investigation and in some investigation reports.
Do I Have to Respond to a Questionnaire and What Happens If I Don't?
You can choose not to provide a response to a questionnaire but it is in your best interests to do so, as this will give us a more balanced and complete picture of what is happening in the market. In the absence of such information, we will have to reach conclusions based on the best information available, which may be that from the applicant who requested an investigation.
Why Do You Need All This Information?
Importers
Information is sought from importers in order to trace the export price of the goods back through to the exporter and to the producer to calculate an ex-factory price to compare with the normal value in the manufacturing country. It also allows import information to be matched with information provided by exporters and in the absence of any responses from exporters, importers may be the only source of detailed information on export prices.
Importers are crucial in providing information on the New Zealand market for the subject goods and indicating post-import costs that are used in assessing the existence and extent of any price undercutting.
Exporters/Suppliers
Information is gathered from foreign exporters and suppliers so that decisions about export prices and normal values and level of subsidy are based on actual company-specific information and can be verified, rather than on information provided by the New Zealand industry.
New Zealand Producers
The assessment of material injury caused by dumped or subsidised imports is made on an industry wide basis, not just the effect on one or two manufacturers. It is therefore important that information is provided by all domestic producers.
If I Provide Information, Who Else Will See It and What Is This "Public File"?
The Ministry is required to ensure that all interested parties have reasonable opportunity to have access to all non-confidential information used in an investigation. Non-confidential information is contained on the Ministry's public file for the investigation, which is available for perusal or copying by any interested party to the investigation or member of the public.
Any information which is by nature commercially confidential (for example, because its disclosure would be of significant advantage to a competitor, or its disclosure would have a significantly adverse effect on the person supplying the information) or which is provided on a confidential basis by you will upon good cause being shown be treated as confidential by the Ministry.
For any information that you request be treated as confidential please:
- Provide a non-confidential version (or a non-confidential summary of the information, or if you claim that the information is not susceptible to such a summary, a statement of the reasons why a summary is not possible).
- A non-confidential version should reproduce the original but have information considered to be confidential either omitted or summarised.
- Provide justification for the information being treated as confidential.
Please note that section 10(8) of the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 allows the Chief Executive to disregard any information for which a satisfactory non-confidential version (or summary or satisfactory statement of why such a summary cannot be given) is not provided.
Information for which confidential treatment is not requested will be treated as non-confidential and will be included in the Ministry's Public File of the investigation.
Copies of documents held on the public files are available by specific request or at the Trade Remedies Group's office in Wellington during normal office hours.
Can I Use an Agent or Consultant to Help Me with My Response to the Investigation?
Yes, you may use whatever resources you wish in providing information to an investigation. Please inform the trade remedies group of your agent via a formal letter of authorisation stating that they are acting for you and the nature and extent of their authority.
Why Is the Investigation Only Limited to Some Countries and Some Types of the Product?
Investigations may only be initiated in respect of the country(s) and goods for which the applicant has provided sufficient evidence of dumping or subsidisation causing or threatening to cause material injury to the New Zealand industry. Therefore the applicant believes that only the goods from the listed countries can be established as meeting the above test. It should be noted that investigations assess the impact of imports from countries other than those under investigation when considering the injury caused to the New Zealand industry. If insufficient evidence of the existence of a causal link between the allegedly dumped or subsidised goods and the injury is not found the investigation must be terminated.
Is the Government Trying to Stop Competition and Free Trade?
Trade remedies investigations should not be seen as restricting trade, but rather as an attempt to ensure fair competition. Only the countries that are nominated by the applicant are investigated and there must be sufficient evidence of dumping or subsidisation causing or threatening to cause injury and a link between the two for an investigation to be initiated. If anti-dumping or countervailing duties are applied their effect is to restore fair competition, they are not designed to stop the goods from being imported into New Zealand but will ensure that the price of the imports is fair either given the price they are sold for in the country of manufacture or the amount of subsidy in the price of the goods exported to New Zealand.
Isn't This a Waste of Time given New Zealand's Open Economy?
There is a difference between low-cost imports and dumped or subsidised imports. Anti-dumping or countervailing action does not remove a foreign producer's competitive advantage and is not designed to prevent imports from any given country. New Zealand must fulfil its obligations under the World Trade Organisation Anti-Dumping and Subsidies Agreements when carrying out investigations.
Can the Government Stop the Investigation?
The applicant can withdraw the application and the investigation will stop, but the Ministry cannot terminate the investigation unless the specific reasons for doing so as per section 11 of the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 are met.
Is Dumping Illegal?
Dumping is not illegal, and can be beneficial to both the exporting and importing countries, however remedial duties can be imposed if dumping materially injures or threatens to injure a New Zealand industry.
When Do I Find Out What the Result of the Investigation Is?
The Essential Facts and Conclusions report, which will likely form the basis of the recommendations to the New Zealand Minister of Commerce to use in making a final decision, must be released to all interested parties no later than 150 days after initiation of an investigation. The Essential Facts and Conclusions report provides parties with the draft result of the investigation, however, submissions received in response to it are taken into consideration when the final determination for the investigation is made.
In the case of reviews and reassessments there is no statutory requirement for an essential facts and conclusions report. However, it is normal practice for the Ministry to provide a similar report for reviews and reassessments, called an interim report and for reviews it is also provided no later than 150 days after initiation.
The New Zealand Minister of Commerce must make a final determination no later than 180 days after initiation, and no less than 30 days after the release of Essential Facts and Conclusions report. A review must be completed within 180 days of initiation but there is no statutory time limit for the completion of reassessments.
Throughout the investigation information on the public file is available to interested parties to monitor the progress of the investigation.
Are You Going to Put Duties On?
Final duties can only be imposed by the Minister of Commerce after an investigation has determined that there is dumping or subsidisation that has caused, is causing or threatens to cause material injury to the New Zealand industry. Any anti-dumping and countervailing duties in force are payable by the importer at the time the goods are cleared from Customs.
Provisional Duties
Provisional duties may be imposed at any time after 60 days from the date of initiation of the investigation if the New Zealand Minister of Commerce has reasonable cause to believe that the goods are being dumped or subsidised, that such dumping or subsidisation is causing or threatening to cause material injury to the New Zealand industry, and that provisional duties are necessary to prevent material injury to the New Zealand industry during the remainder of the investigation.
If no final duties are imposed, or if final duties are imposed at a level lower than the provisional duties then the difference is returned. If final duties are imposed at a higher level than the provisional duties the difference cannot be collected and only the provisional duty level will be collected for the intervening period and the final duty rate will be collected from the day after the date of the final determination.
Final Duties
The New Zealand Minister of Commerce may impose remedies only after an investigation has established that the goods are dumped or subsidised and have caused or threaten to cause material injury to the New Zealand industry producing like goods.
Duties may not be more than the margin of dumping or level of subsidisation and may be less than the margin/level if that is sufficient to remove injury to the New Zealand industry.
Can Duties Be Imposed Retrospectively?
Yes, in very limited circumstances remedial duties can be imposed retrospectively no earlier than the date of initiation of the investigation. However the circumstances under which this could occur are very specific and rare, as set out in section 17 of the Dumping and Countervailing Duties Act 1988 .
What Does NV(VFDE) Mean?
NV(VFDE) stands for "normal value (value for duty equivalent)" and is a reference, or threshold, value used in calculating anti-dumping duties payable. These amounts are calculated by taking the normal value in the country of export and adding the export price adjustments applicable to the goods up to the point of the value for duty of the goods (normally the FOB point). The NV(VFDE) amount is in effect a calculation of the non-dumped value of the goods for duty purposes.
Goods subject to an anti-dumping duty specified in the form of a NV(VFDE) amount which enter New Zealand at or above the NV(VFDE) amount do not attract anti-dumping duty.
What Does NIFOB Mean?
NIFOB stands for "non-injurious free on board". NIFOB amounts are calculated by deducting from the non-injurious market price in New Zealand all of the costs that apply between the free on board price and the non-injurious market price level, which is the level at which the domestic and imported goods first compete on the domestic market.
Goods subject to an anti-dumping duty specified in the form of a NIFOB which enter New Zealand at or above the NIFOB amount do not attract duty.
What Is an Ad Valorem Duty?
An ad valorem duty is a duty expressed as a simple percentage of the value (usually the Value for Duty as defined by the Customs and Excise Act) of the subject goods at the time of importation.
The Goods I Import Have a Tariff Concession, Does That Mean I Don't Have to Pay the Anti-Dumping Duty?
The existence of a duty concession on goods does not provide an automatic exemption from liability for payment of anti-dumping or countervailing duties. This is because liability for an anti-dumping duty is determined by the subject goods description and the differing requirements of the two regimes.
Is the Anti-Dumping Duty Applied by Looking at the Description in the New Zealand Tariff?
Tariff items and statistical keys provided in relation to an investigation are for convenience and customs purposes only. The Gazetted description of goods subject to anti-dumping duties is decisive and takes precedence over any description which may appear in the Tariff of New Zealand and the general "rules of tariff classification" should not be used in determining liability for anti-dumping duty.
Are All Goods under a Tariff Item Subject to the Anti-Dumping Duty Even If They Do Not Fit the Subject Goods Description?
Not all goods imported under any tariff item and statistical key that has an anti-dumping duty applicable to some of the goods imported under that item are subject to the duty, because anti-dumping duties apply to a subject goods description not a tariff item.
For example tariff item and statistical key 6809.11.00.10D covers imports of plasterboard which has a duty on goods that fit within the subject goods description "Standard plasterboard with dimensions of a nominal thickness from, but not including 6mm, and up to, but not including 12mm, of any width or length". Examples of imports not subject to the anti-dumping duty which enter under that same tariff item and statistical key are:
- Plasterboard of a thickness of 12mm or greater;
- Plasterboard of a thickness of 6mm or less;
- Water resistant (WR) plasterboard; and
- Fire resistant (FR or FS) plasterboard.
These boards are specialist products and are normally more expensive than standard plasterboard.
Are Ceiling Tiles Classed as Plasterboard for Anti-Dumping Duties?
This depends on whether there has been a process of manufacture applied to the plasterboard so that it is no longer simply a sheet of plasterboard but is recognisably a ceiling tile. As the anti-dumping duty applies to standard plasterboard (falling within the specified range of thickness) of any length or width, simply cutting standard plasterboard into a length and of ceiling tile size, will not exempt it from anti-dumping duties.
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